Alvarez,
arguably the most popular fighter in the game right now, landed a hard
right twenty seconds into the bout. Lopez landed two left hooks to the
champion’s body. Alvarez countered back with a hard combination. Lopez
stood his ground and fired back.

Lopez started strong in round
two. He backed Alvarez into the corner and delivered a combination.
Alvarez came back with another huge left hook to the liver of Lopez that
knocked the challenger on the seat of his pants. The bell sounded a few
seconds after Lopez got up. The round had been competitive until the
knockdown.

In round three, Alvarez picked up where he left off,
knocking Lopez down with another thudding hook to the body. Lopez got up
at six with a pained look on his face. The Riverside fighter battled
back, but Alvarez kept finding his body and chin.

Round four saw
Alvarez continue to pound on the super game Lopez. His mouth bleeding,
Lopez landed a right hand that had no effect. Alvarez backed Lopez into
the ropes and unleashed hard combination to the head and body that
knocked Lopez down for the third time. Lopez was up and the bell rang.

In
round five, Lopez did some good work until being pushed into the ropes.
Lopez landed a number of right hands, but it was Alvarez’s heavier
punches that finally made referee Joe Cortez wave off the contest at
2:55 of the round. Alvarez’s combination on the ropes almost put Lopez
down for the fourth time. His strength and power were just too much for
Lopez.

After the bout, and still in the ring, Alvarez said, “Josesito has a lot of heart. I did my job.”
.